The 5 Types of Developers and How Agile Can Help Them All

Your devs have an array of personalities that could make for a heist movie: The Futurist always wants to adopt the latest tech, the Historian is an SME but skeptical of the new (he's seen buzzwords come and go), the Scout needs to prepare for every conceivable use case before he writes any code, the Lone Wolf is a full-stack dev who works solo, and the Dev-Optimist is confidently able to overhaul the system in a week.

How can you keep things running smoothly for a team with such a varied set of personalities? Getting everyone on the same page won't always be an easy endeavor, but Agile can help.

The Futurist

The Futurist starts many conversations with, "Hey, did you hear about...?" Although they may be gadget enthusiasts in their personal lives, they are big proponents of introducing new tech at work.

Futurists can spark great inspiration and innovation, but they also benefit from the balance of others on the team to keep their ideas and plans feasible.

Agile’s structure—such as planning poker, a collaborative estimation technique, and acceptance criteria, which define the conditions a feature must meet—will help keep a Futurist’s big ideas grounded in realistic execution.

The Historian

While they're not necessarily the oldest member of the team, the Historian has been around the block and will base decisions on their experience. They tend to be great at documenting and providing thorough explanations of actions taken, but that doesn't mean they don't produce results.

As a subject matter expert, the Historian has the fundamentals down better than anyone else in the department.

Agile's quick sprints and focus on deliverables will keep the Historian moving forward rather than looking back at past methods and project pitfalls.

The Scout

Always be prepared. The Scout is the member of your team who will research and plan before jumping into a new problem. They're likely to volunteer for complex tasks, roll up their sleeves after the preparation process, and get the job done without requiring any ego-stroking.

While the Scout is a valuable member of the team because of their preparedness and willingness to jump in, they also may be less creative or take fewer risks than other team members.

Using Agile with the Scout will help them be more efficient and directed in producing focused tech docs that don't read like a field guide to your entire codebase.

The Lone Wolf

The Lone Wolf is an enigma, a no-nonsense problem-solver. Highly competent, the Lone Wolf is a full-stack dev who can do everything without help. They may keep to themselves, but that doesn't mean they can't work well on the team when there are established goals to work toward. If the Lone Wolf is given autonomy, they can thrive.

The downside of the Lone Wolf is that their projects can be difficult for others to understand and nearly impossible to take over when they go on vacation or leave the organization.

Agile's focus on collaboration will help this developer to share their knowledge and skill with everyone else on the team and make their work more accessible to revisions.

The Dev-Optimist

The Dev-Optimist lives up to their title with a positive attitude and unflagging optimism that the team, or themselves, can take on the world. They're most likely to say, "Sure, we can do that!"

The danger with the Dev-Optimist is that they will overpromise and underdeliver. It's up to the team, and the leader, to help direct the Dev-Optimist's ambitions in a realistic direction.

Planning poker can help the Dev-Optimist be more realistic in their planning efforts. Maybe not task is a two? 

Final Thoughts: Blending Personalities With Agile

If you're leading a team of diverse individuals like these (and if you're managing a dev team, you probably are), understanding their personalities can help you manage more effectively. But your real advantage isn’t just knowing who they are—it’s giving them a framework that helps them thrive. That’s where Agile comes in.

Agile isn’t about forcing everyone to work the same way; it’s about creating an adaptable structure that allows different work styles to contribute effectively. The Lone Wolf gets autonomy while still sharing key insights, the Historian stays forward-focused with Agile’s iterative approach, and the Dev-Optimist learns to balance ambition with realistic planning. Regular feedback loops and self-reflection keep everyone aligned and improving.

Most importantly, don’t pigeonhole your team members. No one is just one personality type—we all wear different hats at different times. By embracing Agile’s flexibility, you create an environment where every developer, regardless of their style, can do their best work.

Want to harness Agile’s power for your dev team? Start learning with our new Agile Project Management Training course.